The definition of republic in the dictionary is a form of government in which the people hold the government through their deputies. On the other hand Turkısh republic is more than a form of government, it is freedom, human rights, respect, peace and equality ; Turkish Republic is the rebirth from the ashes of a nation that went to death without hesitation to defend its homeland and protect it independence. Our republic is the realisation of the impossible, it is the epic of resistance and victory, just like Çanakkale. And 29 October is the day of this great victory, science, independence and development.
The Ottoman Empire, which was defeated in the First World War, was no longer known as a world empire but as the sick man of the east. And the imperialist giants of the west wanted to take everything they could from the sick man of the east before ending the 600-year life of the empire. They had already shared the empire with the agreements they made among themselves, and according to that agreements the Turks were confined to a small piece of land in Anatolia.
When the Allied Powers, which always declared themselves the centre of civilisation and had endless ambitions on our country, drowned the country in blood, the resistance started by the people in Anatolia covered the whole country with its magnificent arms.
After the Battle of Commander-in-Chief on August 30, 1922, the national struggle ended with a definitive Turkish victory. With the liberation of Izmir on September 9, 1922, the homeland was finally freed from the enemy and the Turkish flag was raised again in Izmir. The war against the enemy was over, but next there is much more important and difficult battle : the war against ignorance. This war will be raised with enlightened and educated generations raised with science and knowledge, and this is only possible with the Republic.
Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who said freedom and independence is my character declared the republic, which is the form of government most appropriate to the character and customs of the Turkish nation on October 29, one day before the fifth year of the Armistice of Mudros, because the nation that had lived free since time immemorial could not stand five years of captivity.
On the 100th anniversary of our republic, on October 29, 2023, we, as the enlightened generation raised by the republic, are in the pride of the 100th year and in the excitement of the first day, aware of the difficulties with which the republic was established. Happy 100th anniversary of 29 October Republic Day.